Dang we got it good compared to some

[CJ3Flyr]

I've driven the Honda Pilot (I believe it was previously the Passport). I was considering it, but decided on the 4runner. No complaints with the Pilot... it's really nice, just different.

I don't think the Trailblazer is as bad as you guys are making it out to be. I rented one recently and I thought it was a nice vehicle. None of the problems mentioned above.

I liked the Pilot a good bit. My Dad has it's cousin, the Ridgeline. For the vast majority it may work. No low-range is big for me even though I don't use it much. The deal breaker on the Honda for me is the transmission. There's no way to hold it in 4th gear, a very nice and necessary feature for towing. All Honda gives you is 1,2,3 & D with a 5-speed transmission. When towing the tranny hunts all over in spite of Honda's claim of superior programming. :bash: :wtf:

 

[Thai]

I liked the Pilot a good bit. My Dad has it's cousin, the Ridgeline. For the vast majority it may work. No low-range is big for me even though I don't use it much. The deal breaker on the Honda for me is the transmission. There's no way to hold it in 4th gear, a very nice and necessary feature for towing. All Honda gives you is 1,2,3 & D with a 5-speed transmission. When towing the tranny hunts all over in spite of Honda's claim of superior programming. :bash: :wtf:

Doesn't the Honda have an OD button?? You can push it to turn it off overdrive (aka keep the tranny out of the 5th gear).

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Doesn't the Honda have an OD button?? You can push it to turn it off overdrive (aka keep the tranny out of the 5th gear).

Not that I have been able to find. Perhaps with the most recent body change they have it but 05/06's don't.

 

[Uneek]

I've driven the Honda Pilot (I believe it was previously the Passport). I was considering it, but decided on the 4runner. No complaints with the Pilot... it's really nice, just different.

The Passport was a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo, which IIRC is truck based (body on frame).

The Pilot is based on the Odyssey, uni-body, an entirely different animal.

 

[ToyotaDan]

Today was my Mom's 69th bday. we went to their house and took them out to dinner in my Mom's Trailblazer . ( i posted something about my Dad test driving one a while back ) Anyway Mom loves her TB 4x4 4.2L v6. I was the driver today so I had good rural driving and city driving. It's an 05 w/19k on the clock . My 4R is a v8 with 38k on the clock.
I got a lot of seat time in it today and after we got back to their house , hopped into the 4R and headed home , both me and the wife looked at each other as we started driving and said holy crap is this thing smooth , solid , quiet , Xreas was never appreciated so much. The 4R rode a lot stiffer (like a truck) but so much smoother . I could not believe how loud the v6 was , the rattle , the loose steering , the body roll , simply amazing the difference !!!

She really loves that little truck , so I kept my mouth shut , but first chance I can get her to drive my 4R I will let her .

Well - both my 4runner and my sienna minivan had serious issues today. My 4runner would not start - even though the battery is new, my heater doesnt work, and my sienna has been to the shop so many times that last time they screwed up the hood release and i could not open it give myself a boost (cold weather - also new battery) all while my neighbors with GMCs are laughing at me. Actually I think I am done with Toyotas for a while.

 

[gizmopt2002]

Re: Re: Dang we got it good compared to some

Well - both my 4runner and my sienna minivan had serious issues today. My 4runner would not start - even though the battery is new, my heater doesnt work, and my sienna has been to the shop so many times that last time they screwed up the hood release and i could not open it give myself a boost (cold weather - also new battery) all while my neighbors with GMCs are laughing at me. Actually I think I am done with Toyotas for a while.

That really odd. I live in the next town over so I know how cold it was. Both of our 4Runners started right up, but I was talking to some people at school and found that alot of people either had to get a jump, or stalled when they stopped. My GF's Saturn didn't want to start at first either. I'm surprised it takes only ~2 seconds for the engine to fire in my '95 Runner when the ambient temp with wind chills was -30. But don't blame it on Toyota just yet, the batteries in stock cars usually suck anyways.

 

[ToyotaDan]

Re: Re: Re: Dang we got it good compared to some

That really odd. I live in the next town over so I know how cold it was. Both of our 4Runners started right up, but I was talking to some people at school and found that alot of people either had to get a jump, or stalled when they stopped. My GF's Saturn didn't want to start at first either. I'm surprised it takes only ~2 seconds for the engine to fire in my '95 Runner when the ambient temp with wind chills was -30. But don't blame it on Toyota just yet, the batteries in stock cars usually suck anyways.

The heater thing is what really gets me though. either way I was venting. I love how smooth my Yotas are and I will stick with them... I was just COLD today!!

 

[gizmopt2002]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Dang we got it good compared to some

The heater thing is what really gets me though. either way I was venting. I love how smooth my Yotas are and I will stick with them... I was just COLD today!!

Yea, actually that happened to me too, last year. Now that I recall. IIRC, the in cabin air filter wasn't in all the way, pushed it back in and all was well. Also I disconnected the neg. battery terminal just in case, to reset the ECU. IT was freaking cold today. I wake up at 5:30, shower, and out of the house by 6:10. I just start the Runner and go, and damn, WTF happened to global warming? By the time I get to Rawson bridge I get warm, but just walking 100 feet your eyes water, your extremities start to shill, and its hard to breathe. I cannot wait for arm weather, where I can walk out side and not be freezing.

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[FateOne]

I looked at a pilot before buying our v8 4runner...I just found the road noise worse in the pilot...It drove nice enough but it just didn't seem to have as refined a ride as the runner...at least for me...

To each their own I guess...

Cheers

I looked at a 2005 Honda Pilot before deciding on my 2002 4Runner SE. The Pilot has more power, accelerates better.. and the ride [to me anyway] was refined like my Audi sedan.

It has the space of a SUV, accelerates decently like a wagon, and has the interior "creature comforts" of a minivan (although the Limited adds a lot of these.. but at a higher price than an equal Pilot). For the power/acceleration it also has much better fuel efficiency.

I of course bought the 4Runner. As nice as the Pilot was it is still little more than a less ugly minivan. A great soccer mom vehicle.

The real deal breakers for me were 1)the stupid on the column shifter.. wtf? put it on the floor or else its still a minivan.. it sure beats the weird out of the dash shifter on the pre-2006 Honda CR-V

2)doesn't have a roll down rear window.. I bought the SUV because I have a dog.. that window is perfect for him.... my Audi has all kinds of fancy doo-dads and heated seats, etc. but the dog runs my house

3)no moon-roof.. only on the Acura.. one of the ones I was looking at had an aftermarket Webasco installed but the roof integrity clearly suffered and that bothered me in a class of vehicles that has a high likely hood of rolling over

Please excuse my VERY sexist comments:

You really can't compare them though. The 4Runner is a true SUV and is a dressed up truck but a bit nicer and much more refined. Great for men who have whitecolor jobs but like to get out and get dirty.

The Pilot is a minivan with an SUV body. Great for middle aged women who can take it out on the weekend and leave the kids at home and get some mud on it (but not too much!) and pretend to be something they aren't. Woman may have a small tattoo or hidden piercings. The women that have the Harley shirts and such (but have never ridden a motorcycle or know anything about them) are more likely to own domestic vehicles.

 

[ALt4r]

I looked at a 2005 Honda Pilot before deciding on my 2002 4Runner SE. The Pilot has more power, accelerates better.. and the ride [to me anyway] was refined like my Audi sedan.

The pilot's v6 is barely more powerful than the 4runner's v6, if at all. Acceleration seems the same as far i can tell. The pilot is also a bit heavier than the 4runner so it felt about the same, but thats just me. Good choice on the 4runner though.

Protip: The ride is more refined because its a crossover:biggrin2:

 

[FateOne]

The pilot's v6 is barely more powerful than the 4runner's v6, if at all. Acceleration seems the same as far i can tell. The pilot is also a bit heavier than the 4runner so it felt about the same, but thats just me. Good choice on the 4runner though.

Protip: The ride is more refined because its a crossover:biggrin2:

The Pilot compared to the 4th Gen you are right. The 2002 compared to the 2005 Pilot though there is a fairly big difference in power. I think the 3rd Gen 4Runners put out something like 185 horsepower and then Pilot puts out something like 240hp. The 0-60 on the 3rd gen is something like 10.4 seconds and the Pilot is something like 8.4 seconds (better than my Audi at 9.4 seconds) [I think those are actual numbers.. just a coincidence they all end in .4]


I'm happy with the 4Runner. It certainly is a lot easier to park than the larger Pilot.

The other huge thing is that there is so much information online and great guys like you and everyone else here. The Pilot doesn't have much of a following... and the buyers aren't the fanatics like the people that buy 4Runners.

As a geek (I'm an information systems engineer) the 4Runner also has a lot more "hacks" available. Thats a huge plus.

 

[ALt4r]

Oh wow, i even saw 2002 SE and it just went right over my head. Yeah, i know about the 3rd gens, did of a lot of reading about it on this great forum as i was considering a 3rd gen.
:bash:

 

[FateOne]

Oh wow, i even saw 2002 SE and it just went right over my head. Yeah, i know about the 3rd gens, did of a lot of reading about it on this great forum as i was considering a 3rd gen.
:bash:

I wish I could have found a 3rd Gen with lower miles... and that the 3rd Gen had a bit more power. I don't like the look 4th Gen. I like the fatter front end on the older 4Runners and I don't like the rear spoiler on the 4th Gen. I like the interior though and the taillights and things. I wish you could retrofit some of that stuff in to a 3rd Gen!!

If I had all the money in the world and plenty of time I'd get a FJ40 Land Cruiser and have a lot of custom design work done to give it power everything and a modern interior. The 60 series was nice also. The friend that owned the 1988 4Runner in high school now owns a 1994 LC. The 80 series LCs are nice too but aren't any more unique looking than the 3rd Gen 4Runners. In time

I suppose I'll like the 4th Gens eventually... kind of like how you hate a song the first couple of times you hear it, or don't like a food the first few times you have it. I'm sure the guys that have owned 4Runners for a long time didn't like the 3rd Gen compared to their 2nd gens.

There are a lot of weird ergonomic issues though in the older 3rd Gens. I don't know what Toyota was thinking with putting the popout cupholder where they put it. I'd go crazy. Of course my Audi doesn't have any real cupholders at all since Germans drive like maniacs (I've spent some time in Austria and Germany and can attest to this!) and have no use for cupholders. I'm not sure if the new Audis/Mercedes/other exports in the German domestic market have them or not. Even if they do I'd be a bit surprised if the Opels and other companies that don't make vehicles for the US market do. When I was over there fast food and drive throughs didn't exist and I don't think they had things like pizza delivery either.

 

[ALt4r]

I suppose I'll like the 4th Gens eventually... kind of like how you hate a song the first couple of times you hear it, or don't like a food the first few times you have it. I'm sure the guys that have owned 4Runners for a long time didn't like the 3rd Gen compared to their 2nd gens.

There are a lot of weird ergonomic issues though in the older 3rd Gens. I don't know what Toyota was thinking with putting the popout cupholder where they put it.

Hit the nail on the head. I was so in love with 3rd gens that i didn't want a 4th gen. Until i rode in a 4th gen. The 3rd gen was just a bit narrow to me. A lot of people i know like the 3rd gen's look over that of the 4th gen. After i saw both in person (yes, thats how scarce 4runners are around) i fell in love with the 4th gen. I would be pleased with either one. Also, even though i haven't been driving as long as most of you, i grew up in a family that has always owned older cars, and now i get to enjoy stuff like a CD player and climate control which is a big plus :biggrin2: